France to disperse migrants from Paris to countryside ahead of Rugby World Cup and 2024 Summer Olympics
author: Thomas Brooke
The French government will offer the incentive of permanent accommodation in rural communities for those who enroll in the scheme, as the French capital seeks to improve its image ahead of hosting the two global sporting events
The French government plans to relocate migrants currently living on the streets of Paris to temporary accommodation in the countryside in an attempt to improve the city’s image ahead of hosting the Rugby World Cup later this year and the 2024 Summer Olympics.
In a circular distributed among government officials and seen by French newspaper Le Monde, migrants will be encouraged to head to rural provinces with a guarantee of accommodation and greater access to social services.
According to the circular, the Ministry of the Interior expects the first places for the scheme to be available later this month, with 500 places eventually being opened across 10 regions.
Parisian authorities have failed to provide sufficient accommodation for the increasing number of new arrivals. Asylum seekers and migrants have, for several years now, survived in the capital in undignified conditions, often found pitching tents outside the city hall or using parking lots and metro stations as semi-permanent homes.
Emergency accommodation is saturated across the Paris region, and the local government is reluctant to open up the city’s hotels to house homeless migrants, as they prefer to keep these free ahead of hosting both the Rugby World Cup in September this year and the 2024 Summer Olympics next July.
The leaked circular states that those who voluntarily enroll in the scheme will be offered accommodation in rural communities, including those who are in an irregular situation.